Music RECORDS JAZZ & WORLD
JAZZ LINLEY HAMILTON Taylor Made (Lyte Records) ●●●●●
There is some good jazz coming out of Ulster these days, and trumpeter Linley Hamilton is one of the people making it. His CV includes work with Van Morrison and Paul Brady as well as more mainstream jazz connections, and the choice of material here includes tunes by Carole King and Paul Simon alongside more obvious jazz fare.
Hamilton’s fine bop-inspired work on trumpet and flugelhorn is underpinned by pianist Johnny Taylor and a solid rhythm section, and Taylor’s arranging contribution is also the source of the album’s title. (Kenny Mathieson)
JAZZ WESSELTOFT SCHWARZ Duo (Jazzland) ●●●●●
The combination of piano and laptop computer would once have been pretty much the exclusive preserve of the free improv end of jazz, but Norwegian ‘nu-jazz’ guru Bugge Wesseltoft and techno producer Henrik Schwarz bring their collaboration into more of an ambient jazz-meets-dance music bag.
Advances in electronic and computer music have allowed a new flexibility and sophistication that is fully reflected here, and the two musicians are able to interact in what feels like an equal and organic partnership. Both their improvised and composed music alludes to a wide range of musical references along the way. (Kenny Mathieson)
WORLD THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WORLD LULLABIES Various Artists (World Music Network) ●●●●●
Despite the fact that so many plug into i-Pods daily, it seems folk still enjoy going old school, and serenading their babes with a restful lullaby. For List readers who may have tiny ones in their immediate or extended family, this appealing selection of tried and tested songs for babies from Cuba to Corsica, Armenia to Mali via the Scottish Hebrides comes highly recommended. The CD rather than the MP3
download is preferable, the added bonus being a second ten-track disc by The Black Umfolosi 5 who share the rich, male, a capella vocal tradition made famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. A quality double whammy. (Jan Fairley)
114 THE LIST 25 Aug–22 Sep 2011
WORLD LUCAS SANTTANA Sem Nostalgia (Mais Um Discos) ●●●●●
Publicity can backfire, as with comparing songwriter Lucas Santtana to bossa nova innovator João Gilberto. Where Gilberto distilled everything through a ‘cool’ Brazilian sensibility, Santtana represents more 21st century, universal sources by composing half his songs in Portuguese – as with ‘Amor en Jacuma’, which fuses bossa traces with pedal and techno textures – and half in English, as with the winsome ‘Hold Me In’. Featuring some lovely, laid-back
guitar work and gentle effects Santtana’s layered style is a cross between experimentation and lullaby-like whispers that tickle the ear, a playful approach that creates a sensual interior world. (Jan Fairley)
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
As Mercury Price fever ensues, there’s a last-minute dash to make the most of this extra attention, however, the resulting singles are admittedly a bit hit and miss.
The latter is unfortunately the case for Katy B’s scatty, 90s dance
rip-off, ‘Witches Brew’ (●●●●●, Rinse). Ghostpoet suffers a similar fate with ‘Liiines’ (●●●●● a, Brownswood Recordings) with its rather lazy rap flow, and an equally dishevelled guitar-led beat, yet it still manages to hold your attention. Anna Calvi’s ‘Suzanne and I’ is altogether more ambitious and so
spacious it’s like sound checking in the Sistine Chapel. (●●●●● Domino).
Manchester crew Airship’s ‘Algebra’ (●●●●●, Play It Again Sam) is a nugget of soaring power-pop thankfully devoid of cheesiness. Sadly, the same can’t be said for Ed Sheeran (●●●●●, Asylum) with ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’; a beatboxing abomination.
Canadian sorceress Austra ramps up the goth factor on
atmospheric electronic number ‘Spellwork’ (●●●●●, Domino) while Penguin Parade make a just-shy-of-hideous attempt at all-out 80s cheese with ‘Fair Warning’ (●●●●●, Stranger).
Smith Westerns go the other way with ‘End Of The Night’ (●●●●●
Weird World) channelling the 70s like a vintage ouija board. while the legendary John Cale (●●●●● , Electric Drone) reclaims the retro throne with the brilliant ‘Extra Playful EP’. The undoubted jewel in this slightly rusty crown, winning SSiinnggllee ooff
tthhee WWeeeekk is King Creosote and Jon Hopkins’ ‘Honest Words’ (●●●●●, Domino). Reworking ‘Bats in The Attic’ and packing it together with two new tracks, this EP thankfully brings a welcome bit of East Neuk beauty to the week’s offerings. (Ryan Drever)